Classical Comics

Not to be confused with Classic Comics.

Classical Comics

Industry	Publishing
Headquarters	Litchborough, Towcester, United Kingdom
Key people	Clive Bryant
Products	Graphic novels
Website	Official website

Classical Comics is a British publisher of graphic novel adaptations of the great works of literature, including Shakespeare, Charlotte Brontë and Dickens.

Overview

All of the volumes will be published as graphic novels. Art is being provided by British artists, most of whom have a long history of working in British comics. Some of the releases, in particular the Shakespeare, will come in three different versions: the original text, plain text and quick text, designed to allow readers with different needs to pick the version that bests suits them.^[1]

Classical Comics chairman, Clive Bryant has stated "We want to make Shakespeare as energetic and colourful as Spider-man"^[2] The aim is not just to aid in English literature classes but also in other areas: Karen Wenborn, the managing director, has said "We, and the teachers we’ve consulted, can visualize huge benefits within the education process using the books, not only for literacy and literature, but also drama, art and history.”^[3]

In April 2008 Classical Comics signed a distribution deal with book&volume to cover Australia and New Zealand. In June 2008 they announced two further distributions deals. Publishers Group West will be releasing British English and American English versions of Classical Comics' titles in the US and Canada^[4] and Ittosha are going to be translating the books into Japanese.^[5]

Classical Comics are also adapting their comics into other media and have turned their Macbeth graphic novel into an interactive motion comic with actors like Derek Jacobi and Juliet Stevenson voicing the roles.^[6] Jon Haward, the artist on Macbeth and The Tempest, moved into the role of art direction for the Hamlet adaptation, providing character designs and rough page outlines for pencilled David Lorenzo to work with.^[7]

Reception

The National Association for the Teaching of English is supporting the project. "This is a fun way of getting into the stories", the director Ian McNeilly said. "Plays are not meant to be read, but to be seen. The illustrations in these books are an easy way of following what is going on".^[8] Wenborn has also reported that focus groups were "incredibly enthusiastic"^[9] and The Guardian, who examined the version of MacBeth, has suggested that "it will also, surely, suck some more young readers into the brilliant darkness of this play."^[10]

However, they have also been accused, by newspapers like the Daily Mail, of dumbing down the original text, especially with the very simplified versions. They quote Dr Bernard Lamb, of the Queen's English Society, as saying "Pupils may just enjoy the cartoons and not connect it with Shakespeare and they won't be much of a contribution to education" and that "A lot of the beauty of Shakespeare is in the language more than the plot."^[11]

Titles

• Henry V (by William Shakespeare and adapted by John McDonald, with pencils by Neill Cameron and inks by Bambos, 144 pages, November 2007, Original Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-00-6, Plain Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-01-3, Quick Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-02-0)^[12]
• Macbeth (by William Shakespeare and adapted by John McDonald with artwork by Jon Haward, 144 pages, February 2008, Original Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-03-7, Plain Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-04-4, Quick Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-05-1)^[13]
• Romeo and Juliet (by William Shakespeare and adapted by John McDonald with artwork by Will Volley and Jim Devlin, 160 pages, September 2009, Original Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-19-8, Plain Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-20-4, Quick Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-21-1)^[14])
• The Tempest (by William Shakespeare and adapted by John McDonald with artwork by Jon Haward, 144 pages, September 2009 Original Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-29-7, Plain Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-30-3, Quick Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-31-0)^[15]
• Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Bronte and adapted by Amy Corzine with artwork by John Burns, 144 pages, Spring 2008, Original Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-06-8, Quick Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-08-2)^[16]
• Frankenstein (by Mary Shelley and adapted by Jason Cobley with artwork by Declan Shalvey,^[17] 144 pages, September 2008 Original Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-15-0, Quick Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-16-7)^[18]
• A Christmas Carol (by Charles Dickens and adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, with pencils by Mike Collins and inks by David Roach, 160 pages, October 2008, Original Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-17-4, Quick Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-18-1)^[19]
• Great Expectations (by Charles Dickens and adapted by Jen Green and artwork by John Stokes, 160 pages, March 2009, Original Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-09-9, Quick Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-11-2)^[20]
• The Canterville Ghost (by Oscar Wilde and adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, with art by Steve Bryant and Jason Millet, 144 pages, February 2010, Original Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-27-3, Quick Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-28-0)
• Sweeney Todd (by anonymous and adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, with art by Declan Shalvey, 176 pages, November 2010, Original Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-79-2, Quick Text, ISBN 978-1-906332-80-8, forthcoming)
• Wuthering Heights (by Emily Bronte and adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, with art by John M. Burns, 144 pages, August 2010, forthcoming)
• Richard III (By William Shakespeare and adapted by John McDonald, 2010, forthcoming)

Awards

• 2008:
  • Won the Silver Medal "Graphic Novel/Drawn Book – Drama/Documentary" Independent Publisher Book Award, for Henry V.^[21]
  • Macbeth Original Text Winner in the Secondary Education category at the British Book Design and Production Awards 2008.^{[citation needed]}
• 2009:
  • Won the Bronze Medal "Graphic Novel/Drawn Book – Drama/Documentary" Independent Publisher Book Award, for MacBeth.^[22]
  • Association of Educational Publishers 2009 Winner - Distinguished Achievement Award in grades 9-12 'Frankenstein'

See also

Novels portal

Similar projects include:

• Classic Comics, the fore-runner of Classics Illustrated
• Classics Illustrated, a similar venture from the 1940s to 1960s
• Marvel Illustrated, Marvel Comics imprint adapting classic literature
• Graphic Classics^[23]
• Self Made Hero, another new British company producing adaptations of literature, including some of the same Shakespeare plays
• The Manga Bible, an adaptation by Siku

Notes

1. ^ Clive Bryant on Classical Comics, Newsarama, November 8, 2007
2. ^ Then lend the eye an easy aspect, Times Educational Supplement, August 17, 2007
3. ^ Classics as graphic novels? Have your say!, National Association for the Teaching of English, June 29, 2007
4. ^ Classical Comics To Launch In The USA And Canada With Pgw, Booktrade.info, June 11, 2008
5. ^ Classical Comics Reverses The Flow! Graphic Novels To Be Published In Japanese, Booktrade.info, June 23, 2008
6. ^ Flood, Alison (March 1, 2010). "Schools test 'interactive graphic novel' version of Macbeth". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/01/schools-test-interactive-graphic-novel-macbeth. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
7. ^ Jordan, Melanie C.. "Jon Haward". Imagine Daily. http://imaginedaily.com/jon-haward/. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
8. ^ To be or not to be dumb, The Sunday Tribune, September 2, 2007
9. ^ Shakespeare gets comic treatment, BBC, May 11, 2007
10. ^ Something wicked this way comes, The Guardian, February 25, 2008
11. ^ Shakespeare dumbed down in comic strips for bored pupils, Daily Mail, August 17, 2007
12. ^ Classical Comics - Bringing classics to life
13. ^ Classical Comics - Bringing classics to life
14. ^ Classical Comics - Bringing classics to life
15. ^ Classical Comics - Bringing classics to life
16. ^ Classical Comics - Bringing classics to life
17. ^ Talking Classical Comics with Declan Shalvey, Comics Bulletin, November 20, 2008
18. ^ Classical Comics - Bringing classics to life
19. ^ Classical Comics - Bringing classics to life
20. ^ Classical Comics - Bringing classics to life
21. ^ Announcing 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results
22. ^ Announcing 2009 IPPY Awards National and Regional Results
23. ^ Comics, illustration, stories in GRAPHIC CLASSICS

References

• Classical Comics at the Comic Book DB

External links

• Official website
• book&volume Australian distributor